This month has very much been a completely fresh start for me. I feel like I've hit the massive red 'reset' button for my life. I won't lie, I'm scared... but it's definitely been a long time coming now. I wrote back in January an outline of my goals for going into this new year, and I think I've realised now that my happiness and self development is an ongoing thing, which will never really be 'ticked' off the list upon completion. Like one of my favourite quotes - 'Happiness is the journey, not the destination'. It's great to have daily goals, short term goals, and hell even long term goals! But the wholesome and healthy state of mind in which I'd like to live my life is an ongoing work in progress. Some days will be better than others, I may take a few steps forward then stumble back again, but that's okay. I'm only human. We all are. I recently read The Book Of Brave by Laura Jane Williams, and her words could not have rung more true to me at this moment in time. "Fucking up isn’t failure for as long as you have values, and you stick
to them. If you go off-course, it’s about how you bounce back from that"

So, I'm 25 years old, a female, and apart from stating the obvious I'm heavily influenced on a daily basis by the media about how I should look physically. Makeup and fashion trends come and go, but what I'm talking about is weight, body shape and the constant pressure we face to look a certain way. This is a trend which never seems to stop circulating.

Magazines and advertising campaigns are plastered with bikini bodies, post baby weight loss and fad diets. Celebrities get slated for putting on too much weight, or loosing too much weight?! So basically, you can't be too fat but you can't be too skinny either. I've always been curvy but the 'real women have curves' photos that do the rounds of the internet really infuriate me. Just because someone is naturally slim or has an athletic figure doesn't make them a 'real' woman? Possibly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.

I wouldn't say my weight is something I have 'battled' with, as I have always had a healthy bmi and no need to loose weight for medical related reasons. It's all just aesthetic. But it is something that I think about almost every day of my life, probably since the age of about 18/19. Ironically, I remember being happy with my shape and size before then because I never actually thought about it much. As soon as I started analysing it, the weight piled on and that made me obsess even more.

Here's me from the ages of 18-23. The puppy fat evolved and was renamed 'womanly curves' as I liked to tell myself. Fad diets, calorie counting, then binge eating to make myself feel better and repeating that process over and over again. Plus a stupid amount of alcohol while I was at uni. My sleeping patterns were awful, so I was tired all the time and drinking too much red bull and eating absolute rubbish to fuel me throughout the day. Stressful days at work and break ups? That's okay to have a takeaway tonight then, because I've 'earned' it, and it will make me feel better. I could never tell the difference between eating when I was actually hungry, or if it was just because I was bored or for comfort. Then when I did eat I was filling my body with empty calories that made me even more tired, even more hungry, and put even more weight on. Maybe that guy wouldn't have dumped me if my boobs were bigger, or my
waist was smaller, or my bum was more like Kim Kardashian's. Or the thing
in recent years of the 'thigh gap'. Did you know that thigh gaps are
actually determined by your bone structure and how wide your hips are,
rather than how big or small your thighs and bum might be? Ladies, we can do a lot of amazing things when we put our minds to it but changing your bone structure is not one of them.

At my heaviest I was just over 11 stone. I'd get the usual 'oh but you don't LOOK that heavy' or 'you carry your weight REALLY well'. All sort of round about reassurance but I know what they meant. Years of snowboarding, surfing and motocross meant I had built up a lot of muscle that you couldn't really see (but I promise, it's there!) and of course muscle weighs more than fat. I'm convinced it's in my thighs, those god damn things are solid and will never loose an inch no matter what I do.

Here is me from the ages of 23-25. In the past couple of years I have completely re-evaluated what I am doing with my body, trying to re-educate myself and break bad habits. Despite the pressure we face every day from the media, I wanted to do this for MYSELF and no one else. To actually feel healthier in general. I have been actively trying to make long lasting lifestyle changes, and it's been bloody hard, but in the past wee while it seems to be paying off. I embarked on a detox plan called Clean 9, with the help of a lovely makeup artist I work with called Alexis Miller. This kick started my recent weight loss by almost completely eliminating my addiction to sugar, caffine and junk food in general. Sounds faddy, but it isn't and it really worked. I'd be happy to do another post on that if anyone is interested in hearing about it.

I have been working on my focus area for quite a while now, the bit that bothers me the most - my tummy! It is so satisfying to look at both sets of pictures above and be able to show how my body shape has finally started to change. I lived with a personal trainer for a year, tried all the classes under the sun but was still finding that I couldn't define my shape the way I wanted to. This is when I stumbled across TechnoShape, which I have already mentioned in a previous post. Each session lasts 40 minutes and consists very simply of wearing an air
pressured belt while you work on the treadmill.

The belt gently moves
and almost massages your stomach, encouraging blood circulation to your
mid drift. When I work out I always get a red face and arms but my stomach is cold to touch, so by encouraging the blood to
circulate more in this area while you exercise boosts your body's
ability to burn fat in this area. Hence the steady inch loss! I finished up on the course today and I am really chuffed with the results. After 6 sessions of Technoshape I lost 5cm from my waist, 7cm from my stomach and 4cm from my hips

From left to right, before, during and after

I would say the detox and healthy eating helped with my weight most, and the TechnoShape obliterated those inches, helping me to shift stubborn fat and define my shape. I seem to have hit a plateau with my weight loss recently, at the end of july I was 10 stone 3lbs and I'm now sitting at 9 stone 5lbs. I tell myself my goal weight is 9lbs, but realistically the weight doesn't matter when I can see my body shape changing and feel better about how I fit into my clothes.

A final treat because you are all so awesome, TechnoShape are offering the chance for you to win 6 sessions at a studio near you - worth £275. Even if you're not far from your goal and need that final push, or are looking for an excuse to kick start those changes, I would recommend it to everyone after seeing how well it has worked for me.
I know this price tag might be quite a lot for most people, but it does actually work and targets that stubborn area. Weigh that up against the amount of money people spend buying into fad diets or plans where the weight and inches go straight back on as soon as you start eating normally again. The inches I have lost with TechnoShape have came off, and stayed off! Enter below via Rafflecopter, and good luck! I'm so excited to be giving a set of these sessions away to one of you lucky readers :)

Despite the long hours I have been working for the past couple of months I actually feel more alert and full of energy than I have in such a long time. My skin is clearer, I'm less irritable and I feel like I have made a massive shift emotionally as well as physically. All these things are connected and a healthy mind makes for a healthy body too. Cutting out the addictions to caffine and sugar has made me realise how AWFUL I felt before, when I didn't realise how much I depended on them. But don't get me wrong, I still treat myself with a nice coffee during the week, pizza at the weekend, a glass of wine after a long day and a slice of cake when it takes my fancy. But now I find myself also craving the healthy options because I know how good they make me feel for a longer amount of time, with no crash afterwards. Everything is fine in moderation, and at the end of the day you need to be kind to yourself. Apart from thinking about weight loss and a smaller waist band, the most important thing is to feel comfortable in your own skin. This is my journey - it may be very different from yours or quite similar. We all have our own goals which will take varying amounts of time, steps and determination. Above all, ignore what the media tells you you should look like, strip it all back to basics and work out what you want to do for you.

‘Girls of all kinds can be beautiful –
from the thin, plus-sized, short, very tall, ebony to
porcelain-skinned; the quirky, clumsy, shy, outgoing and all in between.
It's not easy though because many people still put beauty into a
confining, narrow box... Think outside of the box... Pledge that you will
look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you.’ - Tyra Banks

Well hello my lovely and loyal readers ♥ My goodness, I had the pictures uploaded for this post since last weekend, but I have literally not had a minute to sit down and start writing. So here I am, pj's on, cuppa made, tucked up in bed, and spotify playing a sleepy playlist. The last couple of weeks have been super busy for me between working 11 hour days on the new programme we're filming, plus a 3 hour round commute every day. I'm holding on for dear life and trying to keep up, with the positive vibes that this madness is only temporary and come December I'll have some time off and a decent amount of money in the bank to relax for a few weeks.

I literally have no social life at the moment on weekdays. My only connection to friends and family is through texts and social media! If you follow me on instagram or twitter (@hellorogue) then you might have already heard there's a new blue eyed boy in town...

Meet my newest member of the fluffy family, Thackery Binx (aka the black cat in Hocus Pocus, and Binx for short) This little fella was found abandoned on a country road in Perthshire by a family friend, wandering next to his sibling who had been run over :( I won't explain the full story and bore you all to tears, but he ended up being in my care with the plan of building his strength back up and then I'd find him a permanent home. But oh no, this wee dude has made quite the mark on our household, with his number one fan being his already devoted big brother - Dexter.

It filled my heart with so much joy to see Dexter treat this new kitty with such patience and kindness. After everything Dexter has been through recently I didn't want to expose him to any unnecessary stress, but of his own accord he has stepped up to the mark in looking after Binx in a way I never thought possible. Got me thinking of the Dear Kitten video. Absolutely adorable. Binx is only 5 weeks old but the vet is pleased with his progress and the weight is piling on, he was literally skin and bone the night I took him home. My lucky little black cat.

'Dear Kitten, welcome to the household. You'll do just fine' ♥

Apart from long lies and kitten cuddles, here's my recent reasons to smile, and a few of my favourite things at the moment:

I'm still keeping up my healthy eating and TechnoShape sessions, almost finished a full course and have lost quite a few cm off my waist and tummy so far. Can't wait to share the results with you when I'm done! Absolutely obsessed with Nakd bars, they are my go to sweet treat with a cuppa in work, and I got this mixed box from Natural Balance Foods. I've been considering going on a wheat free diet to see if it's what has been causing various issues with bloating and a sore tummy. But one step at a time for me at the moment. I had a pretty bad viral infection at the start of this new job, so started taking various vitamins to help keep my stamina up, and ended up with the cold by the end of the first week taking them! But I'm hoping that's just all the lingering nasties pushing their way out of my system and I'll be back to normal soon.

Loosing a bit of weight and toning up my figure definitely called for a pretty new underwear set. I got this Freya Deco Rebel set from Bras & Honey. My confidence took such a hit after my break up, so simple treats like this really brighten up my day. I've never been one for spending much money on underwear, and don't think twice about wearing non matching bra's and pants (shock horror!) But this gorgeous set is so comfy and flattering to wear, it's definitely ignited a little bug in me. Trying to avoid their website again until payday. I can see an addiction forming...

Majorly enjoying channeling my inner goth recently, after dying my hair dark brown (bye bye blue!) and a lot of love for black, grey, silver and studs. My new sugar skull tshirt and black acid wash skirt from Spartoo, with black tights, black vans and my grey Fred Perry raincoat was the ideal outfit for running errands around town last weekend. Very rarely leave the house these days without my kunzite crystal pendant, which I got from an astrology shop in Covent Garden earlier on in the year.

Cass Art is opening in Glasgow next month, and I have been using this watercolour 24 half pan and beautiful sable brushes to paint up one of the props in the first episode of the new tv show we are filming. Wish I could share more details but it's all confidential until the programme airs (boo) I am creative in my job on a daily basis but very rarely do any sort of drawing or painting at home in my own time. But this has to change as I find it so theraputic. So I took the set, brushes and water colour paper home at the weekend with the hope of starting my own little project soon.

I was off work for 3 days with that viral infection, so spent most of the time chilling in my OnePiece (comfiest thing ever - hands down!) and spending time away from the computer because I had such awful headaches. Apologies for the bad quality phone photo, now that I'm single and my flatmate is out all the time I find it absolutely impossible to find someone to take impromptu outfit photos for me. Next time I'll be chapping on the neighbours door, haha! Iphone next to DSLR pictures isn't the best *hides behind hands* I have a 15% off discount code for you to use on your very own OnePiece, it's LUCKYCAT and is valid until 1st October :) It's already 'that' time of year in Scotland - sun misleadingly shining while it's absolutely freezing.

By the time the weekend came I had total cabin fever, so ventured out the house and got my nails done by the super talented Bethany Lillico who works in the South Side of Glasgow. Told you, it's the simple things! Okay, these may be material things but they make me smile none the less.

I feel like my physical and emotional health takes such a battering during the week that I really need to devote my weekends to feeling good on the inside, and outside. Looking after my body, and ultimately realising how precious a thing SLEEP is! Looking after my mind by doing things I enjoy, and investing my energy in positive people and situations. Not really doing myself many favours by taking on the responsibility of a 5 week old kitten who requires a lot of love and attention. But despite how exhausted I am right now, I have a lot of love to give and feel like he has been my lucky charm after all the recent bumps in the road.

This Saturday I'm heading down to London for the Tattoo Convention, so if you're going I'll maybe see you there! In the meantime, keep in touch via twitter and instagram (@hellorogue)

Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed with life in general, I like to strip things back to basics. Rather than over complicating everything (which I seem to be very good at doing) taking in a few simple pleasures always helps me to clear my head. Being proactive and addressing my physical health and appearance really seems to help the emotional and psychological side too. Our body is a vessel which carries us through the ups and downs of life. You need to be kind to it otherwise you will burn yourself out, and be of absolutely no use to anybody! Here's my three recent life reboots which are helping to make a much healthier and happier outlook on life.

Reboot 1 - Skin

My skin very much reflects how I'm feeling on the inside. I feel like my stress escapes through the body in the form of tension headaches and spots! I'll explain more about the headaches later, but I have been indulging in a regular skincare routine recently. Taking the time to actually do it is just as satisfying as seeing the results from the products themselves.

This corrective formula is designed to condition and lift the delicate area around your eyes. I am such a bad one for rubbing my eyes with face wipes to get rid of stubborn eyeliner at the end of a long day. I've luckily never suffered from dark circles but I do get quite bad bags under my eyes when I'm tired. I apply it first thing in the morning before my makeup, and it definitely helps to cool and calm that morning puffiness under my eyes. You only need to use a tiny amount too, so I can see this 15ml bottle lasting me quite a while.

I recently found out that Glasgow was ranked as the UK's most skin friendly city! Simple combined the average hours of sunshine, pollution levels, and a poll of stress levels from women living in the city over the course of a year. I live just a couple of miles outside the city centre, so was quite pleased to hear this. Guess where was discovered to be the worst... Liverpool! Which really surprised me as I thought it would be London (who actually ranked second)

A beauty therapist years ago gave me the fear over using Simple products, saying that they strip your skin and are actually very harsh. So I had always avoided them until now, and I'm very glad that my opinion has completely changed for the better.

Simple selection - Every Day

I have been using these 4 products above every morning. Although I cleanse my face the night before, I like to use the cleansing wipes and eye makeup remover pads in the morning after my shower. I always think I've got all my eye makeup off and end up still resembling the little girl from The Ring when I come out the shower. I have been using the protecting moisture cream and then the beauty balm instead of my usual foundation. I absolutely love it! It's a light and creamy consistency but has actually got quite a medium coverage for a BB cream, and I'm wearing it in the first picture in this post. It is my total go to base every day now, and the colour adapts to my skin really well whether I've got fake tan on or absolutely nothing. A wee hidden makeup gem that I will re buy over and over!

Simple selection - Every night

Taking 20 minutes in the evening to treat my skin is a nice wee wind down before bed. I go between the cleansing lotion and facial wash depending on how much makeup I've worn that day. Along with the eye makeup remover on a cotton pad, then the facial toner. Plus the same protecting moisturiser that I use in the morning too. The thought of going to bed with makeup on (which I was quite bad for doing lazily sometimes, especially after a night out) makes me feel horrible!

Simple Selection - Every other day

I've been using these three products every other day when I feel like my skin needs it. The illuminating radiance cream feels like a primer with a slight shimmer to it, and is also quite moisturising so makes for a lovely dewy makeup look along with the BB cream. The moisture mist is great for me during long days filming on set, where I don't touch my makeup for at least 12 hours and my skin starts to feel a bit tight. I literally just spray this over my makeup and it brings it to life again! Probably not how you're meant to use it but it works for me. The sun kissed moisture cream has a gradual tanner in it, so I use it the days after I've faked tan to help my face match by body (school boy error!) as the tan on my face does fade when I'm cleaning it so much.

Reboot 2 - Body

I would be lying if I said I wasn't one of those girls who thinks about her weight and body shape on a daily basis. But I'm finally taking a more positive approach to it, with lifestyle changes and sustainable actions rather than fad diets. I did a big monthly shop last week, as I've been getting catering on so many jobs recently that I've not needed to have a lot of food in the house. But there's no greater feeling than your fridge and cupboards being full of good, healthy food. I'm still a big fan of Quorn and have been incorporating it into my cooking at least once a week.

I'm happy to get excited about food, rather than starving myself and counting calories. I eat what I want, making sensible choices, and don't deny myself a treat when I'm in the mood! I must say though, since getting back into exercise again I am not craving chocolate and crisps the way I used to. I think they definitely have an addictive quality to them and the less you eat them, the less you end up wanting them. I was told at the Health Sanctum that my recent headaches are probably being caused by the withdrawal of certain foods, including carbs! Health Sanctum is a health and weight loss clinic that has opened just down the road from me, and they specialise in alternative and holistic therapy. I've been visiting them for Techno-shape sessions and I feel so lucky to have such an informative and supportive source right on my doorstep.

Okay, so excuse my bare belly! But here are some 'before' pictures of my stomach (which is the main area I am addressing) before I started the TechnoShape sessions. Each session lasts 40 minutes, and consists very simply of wearing a air pressured belt while you work on the treadmill. The belt gently moves and almost massages your stomach, encouraging blood circulation to your mid drift. Ever work out and get a red face and red arms, but your stomach is always still cold to touch? Encouraging the blood to circulate more in this area while you work out boosts your body's ability to burn fat in this area. That's the science behind it anyways, and I've completely 4 of 6 sessions, so I'll be excited to share the results with you when I'm done :)

Reboot 3 - Mind

Probably the simplest of the three, and the overall message of this post. Be kind to yourself. Look after your body and your mind and they will look after you. Be kind to others, because we are all on our own personal journey and facing hard battles along the way.

“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.”

Woops! I seem to have been abducted into TV land again while working on my latest job. I'm with BBC3 for 6 weeks, and the first 2 weeks have absolutely flown in. Which is great, however there seems to be not enough hours in the day and days in the week for me to do all the things I want to do. The perks of having a semi long contract (6 weeks, I know... may not seem like long for most people but for me it is!) are definitely a guaranteed pay day every friday, and having weekends off. The downside is I am super tired, all day every day, and my poor wee blog and newly found gym routine seems to have been neglected.

The scales in my house are broken, which has sort of been a blessing in disguise because I would weigh myself every other day and obsess about the number on the display screen. I've really needed to break out of this habit for a while now, and I feel a lot better for it. I feel like I am 'listening' to my body and focusing on how I feel and how my clothes sit on me instead. I used to swear by My Fitness Pal, but it also stressed me out a bit - logging all my calories and freaking out if I went 30 over my daily recommended intake. Instead, I am eating 3 meals a day and only eating healthy snacks in between when hunger strikes. Oh, and I'm also not denying myself chocolate or a little treat every now and again. I definitely don't feel like this relaxed approach has made me pile any pounds on, so when I do get back to the gym I will weigh myself out of curiosity and see what the past month has done to me weight wise.

Anyway, I did not mean to start this post on a bit of a rant/downer, but I hope other people can relate to how I feel, and how it feels to see others making a lot of progress with their fitness and body goals while you feel like you're up a creek without a paddle. This time last month I was off to such a good start! So I'm not gonna let this dip put me off. The last few times I did go to the gym a couple of weeks ago I decided to mix up my usual protein shake routine with post workout juices instead. Currys kindly sent me a Phillips Juicer as part of their Juiced Up campaign, and sent me on my merry way to make the perfect workout drink.

I was randomly given this juice book a few months ago on my last job, and rather intrigued at the juice detox's etc I kept a few pages bookmarked with the intention of looking into them further. Now with a juicer on my kitchen counter I didn't really have an excuse not to get to work! There are a lot of vegetable based juices, but I decided to break myself in easily with a rather fruity concoction called the Peak Performer.

One thing I will say, all the fruit for the recipe wasn't cheap! I spent around £8 in Tesco getting the above, but I think if this were to become a regular thing I would definitely stock up at my local green grocers, rather than the expensive convenience of a Tesco Metro. When I saw it all plated up, I thought how the hell am I going to consume all of this?

Alas, the juicer was amazing! So easy to set up for use and clean afterwards, and it literally blitzed the fruits whole. It was strangely satisfying watching each piece of fruit get blitzed haha. The only thing I had to cut up were the apples so they fit down the top of the juicer. But it literally whizzed up everything - stalks, stems and seeds included. I don't know why I initially had a smoothie consistency in my head (come on Ayden, this is a JUICER after all) and all the pulp left from the fruit was squished into a little compartment at the bottom of the machine.

This is how much juice my recipe made. Definitely enough for two large glasses or three small ones, so you could stagger drinking them throughout the day, or make a couple of days worth at the one time. Now I understand why proper juice companies charge so much for a weeks plan. It did taste absolutely delicious and satisfyingly guilt free. I think next time I will be a little more adventurous and try one of the more vegetable based recipes. With my first juice made I headed over to my local Virgin Active gym with a visitors pass to try out a CXWORKS class. It was pretty tough and focused on tightening and toning your core muscles. It was nice to visit a different gym for a change, and I've found out that my own gym does this class too so I will definitely give it another go. I am more of a classes person rather than the bog standard gym, but maybe this will change as I start to make more focused goals and understand what sort exercises I want to focus on for my body.

A few of my blogging friends including Ruth have been digging the juicing recently. What do you think about it? Is it something you would try at home if you had the right tools?

Ahh exercise and healthy eating... I have missed you my old friend! To be honest I feel like a bit of a hypocrite sitting writing this post when I've just had an ice lolly for dinner, but my time back on the wagon had been great until I came down with the cold at the weekend (and ironically feel like my whole body is on fire) I also got my inner arm tattooed on sunday, so these two combined are leaving me feeling a little worse for wear. But hopefully by this weekend I'll be on top form again and can continue with my best of intentions.

After all the luxuries and laziness of Christmas and New Year were well out the way I was determined to start again with the healthy lifestyle I seemed to live for the bulk of last year. I struggled for weeks to find the motivation, and wish it had been as easy as pushing a 'start' button. One morning I decided to weigh myself, and saw that I had put on the half a stone that I worked so hard to loose last year. That was it! Enough to flip me into action and get the ball rolling.

I was approached by Quorn to become one of their new Ambassadors, which
was a lovely surprise as I have been using their meat free products a
lot in my cooking over the past 6 months in an aim to get more protein
in my diet (and also take a break each week from real meat which is
slightly more fatty and calorific) I am by no means a vegetarian, but I
will pop a link up to my first post for Quorn once it is live over on their blog, so you can have a read and see some of my reasons for using a meat free alternative at least once a week.

Quorn very kindly gave me a donation towards my fitness goals, which meant I could finally take the plunge and join my loyal gym! This is the first time I have been a gym member in over 3 years, but went to boot camp and did a bit of running in between. I joined the Glasgow Life Gym which means I have access to classes and the swimming pool as well as the gym for £31 a month. Managed to bag a cheeky wee BBC discount on my membership too. I got a colourful new Ripcurl bag from Spartoo to use as my new gym bag, and next on the list is to update my sports attire as my current stuff is looking a bit sad. Where can I buy some pretty new work out gear from you guyssss?

The Ripcurl bag is pretty big and comfortably fits my whole gym kit (which is handy if I'm coming straight from work) plus a towel, deodorant, water bottle and protein shaker. I have been using the chocolate impact whey protein from Myprotein mixed with milk straight after my workout. It is genuinely the nicest and most drinkable of all protein shakes I've tried so far, and tastes just like chocolate milkshake! I'm not normally too adventurous with this sort of thing but would quite like to try some of the other flavours which they do. I'm a bit clueless at the moment when it comes to protein shakes and post workout juices so would love to hear your experiences and advice!

You may have heard me mention about my Jawbone UP on the blog before. It was out of action for ages because I lost the charger (doh) and only recently discovered you could buy a replacement on the website for £6! So my old faithful has returned, and I literally wear this little gadget morning, noon and through the night.

This clever little piece of kit plugs into your phone via the headphone jack and sync's up with its very own app.

The motion sensors inside the band track your sleeping patterns during the night, your movement throughout the day, and can also sync up with other apps such as My Fitness Pal to track your food. A closer look at the daily steps shows me how far I have walked each day, calories burned, and a steps goal (which you can set to whatever you please but I am currently at the recommended level for my age, weight etc)

I bought the Jawbone from the Apple Store, but I think Nike also do a similar band. It is quite addictive to use once you get into it, and the band vibrates if I have been sitting idle for too long so it is a good reminder for me to get up and about during the day and stretch my legs - even if I have been sitting in front of the computer all day.

Everything I have mentioned above has helped to kick start me back into a healthy lifestyle. I don't want any more fad diets or obsessing unhealthily over my weight. I want to make sensible and long term goals that are actually achievable, with the aim of feeling happy and healthy. If I loose some weight in the process then that would be great, but I am finished with letting the scales ruin my mood! I love food and hope that I can have a positive relationship with it, along with the addition of some regular exercise to keep my anxiety levels at bay too.

I'd love to hear your current fitness/food goals, stories or woes! It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone in my journey.

This post is very much the opposite of a little hell, I promise you. The title is one of my favourite songs from an amazing band called City and Colour, fronted by Dallas Green of Alexisonfire fame. If you'd like an accompaniment to reading this post you can listen to the song here :) I went to see them live for the second time at the O2 Academy in Glasgow last night and they did not disappoint. Dallas has the most beautiful (and strangely sort of haunting) singing voice. My automatic reaction to hearing him singing is I WANT TO MARRY YOU (sorry John) I'm actually going to quite a few gigs this year, last night was the first and next up are Fall Out Boy, Brand New, Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry. Anyways, here is a wee monday round up of my life as of late.

If you follow me on instagram (@hellorogue) then you might have seen that I was puppysitting my auntys dog Murray last week. My Aunty works away as a Purser on a ship so the wee fella came to stay with me for a few days. Murray is a 6 month old Kai-Leo, and was absolute brilliant company to have! Although I keep myself busy while I'm off work, it was nice to have a wee companion to follow me around and after a day he was my best buddy (even more clingy than Dexter) I never realised how trustworthy and loyal dogs are until now!

One of the best things about having Murray to stay was an excuse and the motivation to go out for long walks (something I would rarely do on my own) We met up with Heather and her two pups and went for a massive walk around the south side of Glasgow and Queens Park. We stopped at the Glad Cafe so I could run in and get us a coffee, and when I came back out Heather had inherited a Corgi who's owner had jumped in for a coffee too. I shall now rename her Heather the dog wrangler haha. Murray was absolutely filthy when we got home, so I gave him a bath using the Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner that I used on Dexter and the pigs a couple of weeks ago.

After a long day of walks, a bath and a blow dry we were both very tired and got an early night. I thought that cat naps were nice but dogs naps are even better!

On the friday evening Titan Props were holding a screening of The Shining in their warehouse, so me Gary and Murray went along with some other people that we work with. They had a giant projector screen set up, and some Shining related props scattered about - including their own remake of the creepy door...

I thought that my door picture was good, but I think Murrays professional photo steals the show! He was very well behaved and sat on my knee under a blanket for the whole film without making a peep, then had fun exploring the prop store and saying hello to everyone properly once the film had finished.

Come saturday afternoon I drove over to see Jenn for a catch up and she fell in love with the pup too! I was pretty sad taking him back to my Grans that evening, we'd made a strong little bond in the past few days and had lots of fun. He was no bother at all and the cats weren't fussed in the slightest by him (probably because they'd all met briefly before, and Tink is the same size while Dexter is bigger) so that was a relief because I didn't want them to be upset while their new visitor was there. Hopefully I shall be reunited with my puppy love soon :) Are you a non dog owner that's had a go of dog sitting?

Saturday night I went out to the Cathouse with a big group of about 15 friends, but wasn't drinking as I was gonna be up for snowboarding at 5am the next morning (above is me, Neil, Sean and Heather) It was quite surreal when at two separate points people came up to me that recognised me from this months issue of Front magazine. I wasn't expecting it at all!

I was home and in bed for 3am, and by 9am I was at the top of Glencoe. I think the cold must have frozen any tiredness out of me. Managed to last the whole day snowboarding without feeling that tired or grumpy.

I headed up in the van with a bunch of lovely guys that I went to school/grew up with. Queue boy talk and jokes the whole bloody day. I think I did not bad at keeping up with them though!

Me and Sam on the chairlift heading back down the mountain at 4pm. The conditions were good, lots of nice soft powder coverage but the visibility was a bit rubbish the higher up you got. This is my first time back at Glencoe or even on my board since I ended up in crutches for 2 months last year with a partially torn ligament in my knee. So I was quite nervous about heading up but I took it easy and my old wonky knee handled it fine.

I was so grateful to get home that evening, into my jammies and put the kettle on. I've been using my new Suki Teapot that Louise got me for christmas, along with lots of new loose teas in these cute little tins from Uncle Greig. Think he bought them from a tea shop up in Aberdeen.

Another tea I have been trying this week is the Bootea Detox. I'm on day 5 of 14, not sure if anyone would fancy me doing a little review of this once I'm done? I know these sort of health detoxes can be quite faddy and not quite everyone's cup of tea (excuse the pun - LOLZ!)